High School Girls' Basketball: Couple of late misses ground Golden Eagles

March 08, 2008|By Deb Smith, dsmith@aberdeennews.com

RAPID CITY - Just one or two missed shots late in the fourth quarter stood between Aberdeen Central and the right to play in the State AA championship game. The Golden Eagles had two three-point field goals go down and pop out in the last three minutes along with a good look at a two-pointer. Sioux Falls Washington held on for a 43-37 win over Aberdeen Central on Friday in a semifinal game at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in high school girls' basketball. The Golden Eagles (15-10) will play Watertown (18-6) in the third-place game tonight at 6 (MST) tonight in Rapid City. Sioux Falls Washington (21-3) will play Pierre (19-5) for the state title at 8 tonight. Tired legs might have been a factor in Central's fourth quarter shooting. “We left some a little bit short at the end of the game and maybe that's a little bit of fatigue after your second night,” she said. “It's a pressure situation. Overall, in the game, we shot fairly well. If you shoot 50 percent in a game, you should be in business. We left just a couple short in that fourth quarter. I'm very proud of the effort of the kids. We played well enough to give us a shot at a state title.” Washington led 34-30 with six minutes left in the game, but Central rattled off five straight points on two driving field goals by Hilary Peterson and a free throw by Kayla Schaunaman. The Golden Eagles led 35-34. Washington countered with two free throws by Ashley Eide at the four minute mark. Central missed a three-pointer on its next possession and committed a turnover on its next one. A Rachel Walters field goal boosted the Warriors lead to 38-35. Central's Alison Kusler calmly sank two free throws to pull the team within one point at 38-37 with 81 seconds left. In the rest of the game, the Golden Eagles missed twice more from the field and Washington made five of six free throws. “We needed just one shot to get us going,” said McDermott. “They weren't falling. They were rebounding well at the end.” Central controlled the tempo of the game early and led 10-9 after one period. After trailing 20-15 at halftime, the Golden Eagles outscored the Warriors 13-10 in the third quarter. “Defensively, that was our best quarter,” said Seiler. “We didn't give up too many easy looks. We had a hand in their face. I thought one thing that hurt us is the offensive boards. We gave up 12 offensive boards and those are freebies for them. You just can't do that and come away with a win. I thought that was the difference in the game right there.” Washington finished with 25 total rebounds to 18 for the Golden Eagles. Washington coach Nate Malchow, an Aberdeen Central graduate, was also pointed to his team's rebounding. “ We rebounded well,” he said. “We told the kids that Aberdeen, with the tempo that they play, we have to allow one shot. I take my hat off to Aberdeen Central and hats off to coach Seiler. There's a lot of fight in them. They played very well. They've done a lot with a young team this year.” Washington had three double figure scorers, Kacey Meeker with 13, Eide with 12 and Becky Tesch with 11. “Our biggest key was trying to dictate tempo,” Malchow said. “I think Aberdeen did that, but at the same time, I think our kids adjusted and were able to get some good looks in the half court. They really took away our fast break so we didn't have a lot of break opportunities. We were able to get some good looks in our half court offense and hit a couple of threes. For Central, Peterson topped the charts with 15 points and eight rebounds. Kusler added 10 points and McDermott had nine. Coach Seiler thinks her young squad will be ready for the third place game. “We'll see how resilient we are tomorrow,” she said. “This group has been resilient all season long and I would think they would come out to be a class act.” ABERDEEN: Kayla Schaunaman 0-0 3-4 3, Sophia McDermott 4-8 0-0 9, Kelsy Hofer 0-1 0-0 0, Hilary Peterson 6-10 3-6 15, Alison Kusler 4-10 2-2 10. Totals 14-29 8-12 37. SIOUX FALLS WASHINGTON: Chelsey Wahlstrom 2-4 0-0 6, Kilee Kading 0-0 0-0 0, Kelli Hilbrands 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Walters 1-3 0-0 2, Becky Tesch 2-6 5-7 10, Kacey Meeker 4-6 3-4 13, Molly Soholt 0-3 0-0 0, Ashley Eide 4-12 4-6 12, Stevie Knutson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-35 12-20 43. Aberdeen (15-10) 10 15 28 37 Washiington (21-3) 9 20 30 43 3-point field goals - Central 1-6 (McDermott 1-2, Kusler 0-4); Washington 5-13 (Wahlstrom 2-3, Hilbrands 0-1, Walters 0-2, Tesch 1-1, Meeker 2-3, Soholt 0-3). Total fouls - Central 16; Washington 14. Rebounds - Central 18 (Peterson 8); Washington 25 (Eide 7). Assists - Central 4 (Kusler 3); Washington 11 (Tesch 4). Steals - Central 5 (Peterson 2); Washington 7. Blocked shots - Central 3; Washington 2 (Eide 2). Officials - Terry Nebelsick, Mike Kirkeby, Gilles Stern.